Barriere vs Vianello Predictions: ‘The Gladiator’ is an underdog you don’t want to cross

Unbeaten heavyweight hope Alexis Barriere takes on Italian danger man Guido Vianello this Saturday, October 11. The fight takes place at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, on a card headlined by Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis making his super welterweight debut versus Uisma Lima. DAZN will carry the live broadcast. 

Read on for my Barriere vs Vianello predictions.

Barriere vs Vianello Odds

Barriere is a slight favourite at 5/6, while the always-dangerous Vianello is priced at 21/20. Not much to split these two. If you think nothing will split them come the final bell, a draw can be backed at 16/1.

Barriere vs Vianello Fight Preview

It takes a brave heavyweight to sign on the dotted line against Vianello. Known for giving top contenders hell, ‘The Gladiator’ has a 13-3-1 record that is the definition of deceptive.

Vianello came to international attention when he ran world-ranked star Efe Ajagba hellaciously close in April of last year. ‘The Silent Roller’ was expected to roll over Vianello. But instead, he found his fire returned in red-hot kind during an enthralling battle of the big men. Ajagba took a split decision and just about deserved it. But Guido had announced himself to the world.

Vianello’s reward for his heroics was a bout with Arslanbek Makhmudov, the prominent Russian who was hitting the comeback trail after being upset by Agit Kabayel. 

Makhmudov, who fights Doncaster’s Dave Allen in Sheffield on the same day Vianello meets Barriere, was coming off a two-round blasting of Miljan Rovcanin. Like against Ajagba, Vianello did not read a script that merely listed his character as ‘opponent’. This time, he went one better, stopping Makhmudov in eight rounds after inflicting a gruesome eye injury.

Prized for his durability and determination, Vianello was pitched against Richard Torrez Jr., the smiling Olympic medalist that America is pinning its hopes of another world heavyweight title on. There was to be no tight decision and no miracle this time. But Vianello’s efforts, as attritional and messy as his clinch-heavy work was, warranted better than the wide scores reflected. 

Vianello himself was an Olympian in 2016, an easy fact to forget. An early professional draw with Kingsley Ibeh and a loss on cuts to Jonathan Rice hampered his momentum. The big Roman found himself cast as the b-side with increased frequency.

Familiar territory then, as Vianello is in that role again, with Canada’s Barriere the favoured 12-0 prospect. Not a great deal is known about the 30-year-old, beyond his time sparring with Tyson Fury ahead of ‘The Gypsy King’ facing Oleksandr Usyk.

Those sessions will have given him a good grounding, while 12-0 with 10 knockouts passes the eye test. Granted the opposition has been weak, but that is nothing new for a rising heavyweight.

Barriere’s last two opponents were shipped in from the Mexican domestic scene and were summarily knocked out. Three fights ago, the anonymous Mike Marshall, 6-4-1, was pumped full of leather. Azerbaijan’s Zamig Atakishiyev was 8-0-1 when Barriere outpointed him. But the lukewarm Ryan Rozicki decked the same opponent in three rounds one fight later.

It is safe to say that Vianello will be the first proper test for the Quebec southpaw. You never know how good a prospect is until they face a legitimate foe. Many is the heavyweight who has been hyped to the moon for highlight-reel knockouts over journeymen who nobody outside their immediate family would recognise. That is all behind Barriere now. The fighting starts here.

Barriere vs Vianello Full Card

Jaron Ennis vs Uisma Lima

Alexis Barriere vs Guido Vianello

Tahmir Smalls vs Jose Roman Vazquez

Giorgio Visioli vs James Wilkins

Zaquin Moses vs Antonio Dunton El Jr

Dennis Thompson vs Sean Diaz

Justin Palmieri vs Naheem Parker

Harley Mederos vs TBA

Barriere vs Vianello Prediction

Barriere is a methodical southpaw and he hits hard. Far from steaming in, he administers his considerable power with ruminative thought. Defensively I find him a little messy and you wonder if his low right hand will be exposed against better men.

Vianello could make Barriere think twice about that loose stance. The Italian is in possession of a thudding jab that could find the Canadian’s oft-exposed chin. Vianello did have some trouble timing his shots against Torrez, another southpaw. But the American exhibits more head movement than Barriere and ‘The Gladiator’ still had success with his straight right as well as body hooks thrown from dangerous angles. 

Barriere’s ceiling is unclear. On their respective outings so far, I think Vianello knows too much for the favourite. He held his own against Torrez and Ajagba. He wore down Makhmudov. These are quality heavyweights and Vianello was competitive against all three. Barriere has quietly impressed without dazzling in his 12 victories. A record littered with the bones of forgettable men dispatched in a memorable manner. 

I like Vianello for the upset here at odds of 21/20. Barriere can punch, but ‘The Gladiator’ has thrived in deeper waters than this.

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